Lecture by David Blunkett on Power

On the 12th October Professor David Blunkett will give the University of Sheffield’s 12th Roberts Lecture.

The lecture will examine sources of power in the 21st-century, and whether anything has substantially changed over the last half-century.

Rt Hon Lord David Blunkett, Professor of Politics, University of Sheffield

What is power, who possesses it and what ingredient in modern democratic society allows for the challenge to such power, including traditional as well as more modern forms of national and international market forces?

Has social media and the development of new forms of communication substantially changed the rules of the game and where does traditional political process fit into the equation?

What lessons can be deduced from recent international as well as domestic political events and how can democratic institutions and processes empower the powerless, in the absence of control over the levers of significant power?